Thursday, April 19, 2012

Has NEC Failed TO DO Their Job?

-->In
recent times, there has been a lot of news on littering and dumping in public
places. From all that I can see on BBS TV and read in the print media, it looks
like, finally, the Thimphu Thrompen (Thumbs Up to you - way to go!) is going to do something about tackling one
of our most shameful and visible failures - pollution and waste management.

This
morning I visited the website of the NEC (National Environment Commission) to
see if they have been adequately empowered to act in matters relating to pollution
and irresponsible dumping of waste. From the notice posted on the front page of
their website (reproduced below), it seems like they have been – for the past
many years. So how come they have failed to act?

“This
is for the general information to the public that washing and cleaning of
clothes/vehicles and dumping of any kinds of wastes by the river banks or into
any water bodies are prohibited under the Waste Prevention and Management Act
of Bhutan 2009 and National Environment Protection Act of Bhutan 2007.

Therefore,
everyone is informed to stop carrying out these activities. Henceforth, anyone
found violating these Acts shall be liable for both civil and criminal
penalties.”

On
23rd September, 2010, I posted the following article on this blog -
raising the issue of the terrible pollution that was being caused to our rivers
and lake. I have not heard any action being taken by the NEC. I even visited
the NEC office and spoke to one of the officers there to do something about the
dumping into our rivers. Nothing has been done.

Frankly,
it is very simple. Since all the puja celebrations are funded (paid for) by the
owners of the construction companies and house and workshop owners, all that is
required is to write to each one of them and inform them of the laws in place
and put them on notice that if they do not act responsibly, they will be
prosecuted as per law. Thereafter, monitor the puja sites and enforce the rules
– strictly.

I am
not suggesting the banning of the celebration of the puja. What I am asking is
that, there must be better ways to have fun. Think of better and safer ways of
doing things.

..............................................................

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Of Pollution, Puja and
God Who Gets Dumped

Here it was, yet again, the 17th of September,
a day when motorized vehicles are adorned with vermilion, multi-colored
balloons and yards and yards of colorful synthetic ribbons. On this day, puja
pandals are hastily hammered together; in the basements of semi-finished
buildings, factories, vehicle workshops and metal fabrication facilities - to
house a mustachioed idol of a four-armed being, riding an elephant and wearing
a crown and loads of jewelry. In his hands he holds a water-pot, a book, a
noose and craftsman's tools. The brightly colored idol, in whose honor such a
ruckus is being kicked up, is that of the mythical Lord Vishwakarma - believed
to be the chief architect and supreme engineer to all the Gods in the Hindu
pantheon.

Strangely, in my experience, it is not the professional
engineers and the architects who honor the Hindu God but the migrant Bengali
and Bihari laborers, mostly in the construction industry, who celebrate the
Vishwakarma puja. And they do it with unrestrained zest and gusto. Street
corners, construction sites and vehicle workshops - all come alive with a
cacophony of popular Bollyhood movie songs blaring out of tattered sound boxes
at decibels high enough to shatter one’s eardrums.

For a God who is celebrated with such passion
and enthusiasm, the Hindu faithful seldom build temples or permanent statues in
honor of Lord Vishwakarma. Perhaps, that is the reason why, during this puja
celebrations, one will not be hearing any hymns or devotional songs extolling
the virtues of this God of engineering and architecture. Instead, one will see
devout Bengalis and Beharis gyrating wildly in front of the idols. This manner
of honoring a God is alien to most Bhutanese who are used to expressing their
devotion to God with murmured prayers offered with closed eyes and folded hands.
Nevertheless, I have yet to see a Bhutanese decline the pandal’s make-shift
Pundit’s customary offer to plant a red “tika” on their foreheads.

While the deafening sounds generated by the
incessant pounding of old tins and empty plastic barrels keep the Bengali and
the Bihari adrenaline flowing, a large population living close to these
numerous pandals spread across the town is robbed of sleep and peace by the
celebrations that go on unabated, all night long.

I am told that there are in excess of 400 constructions
that are ongoing in Thimphu town alone. This will get only worse in the coming
years. Therefore, I get this feeling that the celebration of Vishwakarma puja,
in its present form, has the potential to be a great public nuisance, if
allowed to fester unchecked and unregulated. If we do not act now, there is a
real danger that it may become a part of our culture - a culture that is
neither meaningful nor productive. More importantly, even beyond the fear of
being saddled with a culture not our own, the environmental damage and the
noise pollution caused by these celebrations should be reason enough for
concern. We need to intervene now when the problem is still relatively
manageable.

There is something not quite right in the manner
in which Vishwakarma puja is celebrated in our country. I see aspects to it
that are not in conformity to the generally accepted code of conduct and
decency required to be observed when celebrating in public spaces. It would
appear that it hasn’t yet dawned on the Bhutanese people the long-term damage
the Vishwakarma puja celebration is causing to our environment. Or, as usual,
we are taking a lackadaisical attitude towards it.

Let us consider the following:

1. Celebration and/or
conducting of any public function is, by rule, subject to proper written
authorization from a designated government/regulatory authority. I have not yet
heard of such a requirement being imposed on the annual celebration of the
Vishwakarma puja. What are the reasons for this special immunity? Given the
very public nature of the celebrations and considering that a large number of
people congregate during this occasion, shouldn’t we require the event to be
properly licensed and monitored? And, if we decide that they should be
regulated, who should the regulatory authority be? - the Ministry of Home &
Cultural Affairs, BICMA, the City Corporation or should it be the RBP? What
should be the guidelines in order to ensure that it is celebrated in a way that
it does not infringe on people’s peace and privacy or cause damage to the
environment and the ecosystem?

2. During the day of the
celebrations, a large number of vehicles that ply on the roads are decorated
with yards and yards of colorful synthetic ribbons and balloons and flowers
made of Styrofoam that obstruct the vision of the drivers. This is clearly
hazardous and could result in road mishaps and endanger lives. Strangely, if
you ask those who partake in these decorations, they are clueless as to its
religious or social significance. What are the RSTA’s and the Traffic Police’s
stand on this? In most countries, anything that you attach to a vehicle that is
not an allowable gear or attachment or useful accessory is tantamount to
altering the original design of a vehicle, which is prohibited. Is such a thing
allowed under the RSTA or the Traffic rules? Without doubt, such decorations
obstruct visibility and thus can be classified as dangerous driving. Should it
be allowed?

3. The worst part of the
Vishwakarma puja celebrations is that the celebrations end the next day - when
the idols are immersed in rivers and lakes. It defies logic and it is
absolutely incomprehensible that an idol of God that one reveres and worships,
end up being dumped into the river like a bundle of garbage. Why would any one
want to worship it if it were to end up being dumped like a pile of dirt?

However, it is not for us who are outside the
faith to try and decipher the why, and the why for, of such a seemingly
illogical act. To us, it is more important to understand the consequences of
this act from the point of view of its impact on our environment and social and
communal harmony.

4. Traditionally, idols
were made from mud and clay and painted using vegetable dyes. But
commercialization of festivals and the sheer volumes of idols needed to be
produced and transported over great distances meant that the traditional
materials did not fulfill the design specifications of the modern idols. In the
process, eco-friendly statues are no longer economically feasible. Thus, the
new generation idols are produced from non-biodegradable materials such as
plastic, cement and plaster of Paris and painted with chemical dyes that
contain harmful and toxic agents.

Can you imagine what the thousands of idols,
along with its synthetic and plastic trappings, being dumped into our river
systems around the country are doing to our environment? Besides poisoning our
water sources, can you imagine the damage it is causing to the aquatic
creatures that inhabit our rivers and lakes?

Have you considered that these toxic materials
finally end up inside the bellies of fish that we eat? Have you considered that
the river waters with all the contaminants end up in the irrigation channels
that our farmers use to irrigate their farms that produce food and vegetable
that we consume? If this is going to be the case, how realistic is our dream of
becoming a nation of organic farmers?

It is clear that unregulated celebration of the
Vishwakarma puja can go beyond being merely a public nuisance. Its environmental
implications are of greater concern. Why is it that the National Environment
Commission has overlooked this issue? Why has the RSTA and the Traffic Police
not been alerted of the dangers of vehicles being decorated with things that
could cause dangerous accidents on the road?

I believe that it is time for the government and
agencies under it to put in place rules and regulations and promulgate them to
ensure that:

a. the puja is
celebrated in a manner that is not detrimental to our environment while, at the
same time, it is celebrated in a way that it does not cause problems and
hardships to others;

b. that the celebration
is licensed by a competent authority in order that the licensees can be held
accountable;

c. ensure that, if
possible, idols are built in-country under strict supervision to ensure that
only bio-degradable materials are used to build the idols and be decorated with
environmentally friendly substances. If that is not feasible, ensure that their
import is brought under some control so that only idols built with harmless and
bio-degradable materials are allowed to enter the country.

I know that it is in the Buddhist spirit to
allow free and fair practice of individual faith and culture. But being
tolerant does not mean that we have to accept practices - whether cultural,
religious or social - that harm the environment as well as cause disruption to
the peace and tranquility of others within the sphere.

If we pride ourselves as an evolved lot with the
capacity to think objectively, analytically and with reason, it is quite
ridiculous to continue to engage in acts that were conceived in medieval times
when conditions were different from what it is today. It is acceptable that
certain beliefs and practices may have been pertinent and useful during a
particular time and stage in our evolution - but not all of them are now useful
or relevant or even practicable.

Conservation and protection of the natural
environment is one of the four pillars of GNH. We take great pride in being a
champion in environmental conservation. If that be the case, we should have no
hesitation in rationalizing, if not entirely doing away with, certain practices
that are undeniably accepted as being harmful to nature and the environment. In
my opinion, there should be no doubt in anybody’s mind that the manner in which
Vishwakarma puja is celebrated in its present form is a great polluter.

Lord Vishwakarma cannot be a very happy God
knowing he has become a source of pollution and defilement of the environment.

2 comments:

Yeshey sir, Zowo Bishwakarma is recognized even in Buddhism as an architect. You will find the mention of him during our celebration of the descending day of Lord Buddha.Anyway, how polluted will our river become by casting off a statue once in a year? How about the things becoming the other way round? I mean the dirty rivers getting sanctified? :-)

"casting off a statue once in a year"?????? Perhaps you are not aware that in Thimphu alone --- at any given time, there are more than 400 constructions happening. Think of how many statues are being dumped in the rivers and lakes around the country.

What do you mean by "I mean the dirty rivers getting sanctified?"

Are you suggesting that the dumping of the statues into the rivers and lakes will have a purifying effect on the rivers and lakes?